IS claims responsibility for Kabul attack on Afghan clerics

KABUL – The Islamic State group’s affiliate in Afghanistan has claimed responsibility for the deadly suicide bombing the previous day that targeted a meeting of the country’s top clerics in the capital, Kabul.

At least seven people were killed and 20 were wounded in Monday’s attack, which came shortly after the body of religious leaders, known as the Afghan Ulema Council, had issued a decree against suicide attacks and called for peace talks.

The IS claim, posted on a website linked to the militant group, says the gathering in Kabul was a meeting of “tyrant clerics” who were discussing the fight against what they call “terrorism.”

Shortly after the bombing, the Taliban denied involvement in the attack, though they also denounced the gathering and its religious decree, or fatwa.